The present invention relates to a cooling assisting device, a cooling assisting method, an electronic apparatus, and an information processor, and particularly to a cooling assisting device capable of assisting the cooling of an information processor, a cooling assisting method therefor, and an electronic apparatus and an information processor using the cooling assisting device.
FIG. 14 shows a related art personal computer 1 including a main body 2 and a display unit 3. The main body 2 contains devices mounted on a board, such as a CPU and a video chip, which generate heat during operation thereof. To suppress the temperature rise of the whole main body 2, the main body 2 generally has an air outlet 4 disposed typically in the back surface of the main body 2, and also contains a cooling unit 11 as shown in FIG. 15. Air in the main body 2, warmed by heat generated from the devices, is discharged to outside through the air outlet 4 by the cooling unit 11.
The cooling unit 11 shown in FIG. 15 has a housing 12 in which a fan 13 is contained. An air inlet 14 through which outside air is sucked by rotation of the fan 13 is provided in the upper surface of the housing 12, and an air outlet 15 through which the air having been sucked from the air inlet 14 is discharged is provided in one side surface of the housing 12.
FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken on line X.sub.1 -X.sub.2 of the personal computer 1 shown in FIG. 14. Referring to FIG. 16, the housing 12 of the cooling unit 11 is connected, via a thermal conductor 22 such as a heat pipe, to the board 21 on which the devices such as a CPU and a video chip are mounted. The cooling unit 11 is mounted in such a manner that the air outlet 15 is aligned to the air outlet 4 of the main body 2.
The cooling function of the cooling unit 11 will be described below. Heat generated from the devices is transferred to the housing 12 of the cooling unit 11 via the board 21 and the thermal conductor 22, to warm air in the housing 12. Since the fan 13 of the cooling unit 11 is rotated to suck outside air (in the main body 2) from the air inlet 14 and discharge it from the air outlet 15, the warmed air in the housing 12 is discharged to outside via the air outlet 15 of the cooling unit 11 and the air outlet 4 of the main body 2. In this way, the devices as a heat source and the board 21 on which the devices are mounted are cooled by discharging the air in the housing 12, which has been warmed by heat having been transferred via the board 21 and the thermal conductor 22.
The heat from the devices or the board 21 also warms air in spaces F and G, to increase the temperature of the air in the spaces F and G. The warmed air in the spaces F and G is sucked in the cooling unit 11 from the air inlet 14 and is discharged to outside via the air outlet 15 of the cooling unit 11 and the air outlet 4 of the main body 2 by rotation of the fan 13 of the cooling unit 11. In this way, the spaces F and G are cooled by discharging the warmed air in the spaces F and G to outside.
The temperature rise of the whole main body 2 is suppressed by cooling respective portions in the main body 2 as described above.
However, in recent years, along with the miniaturization of the personal computer 1, the main body 2 has come to be thinned, and more concretely the height of the main body 2 has come to be lowered. Accordingly, a gap between the air inlet 14 of the cooling unit 11 and the inner wall of the main body 2 has come to be made narrow. This presents a problem that air does not smoothly flow in the gap, with a result that the sucking of air in the cooling unit 11 from the air inlet 14 is insufficient, so that the temperature rise of the main body 2 cannot be sufficiently suppressed.